The 2024 season is here for high school girls’ volleyball with league play right around the corner.
A local team has reached at least the CIF semifinals in each of the past three seasons, with Saugus and Santa Clarita Christian snagging sectional titles. This season appears to be no different with talent all over the Santa Clarita Valley.
Here are some players to keep an eye on from all now-10 local schools as Legacy Christian showcases its inaugural team:
Hart boasts young talent
Hawks girls’ volleyball (0-5) has entered a new era after an accomplished senior class departed in the spring.
Hart has big shoes to fill all around starting at the outside position, where Long Beach’s Madison Maxwell anchored the team for last season. Senior Allison Wieckowski has stepped up early in the year and will be vital to Hart’s success this season on the left side.
Captains Martina Neveleff and Sara McCarthy have also made an impact on and off the court. McCarthy will run the offense from the setter spot while Neveleff has been a steady middle for a few years.
Junior Olive Moore is still looking for a permanent home as she has shown she can play multiple positions on the net. Libero Kai Agamata will hold down the back row while coach Mary Irilian will hope to get more from Vanessa Bookhart.
The Hawks still feel confident in their hunt for another league title despite dropping five straight to open the season.
Hart opens its back-to-back campaign on Thursday in a home match with Valencia at 5:30 p.m.
West Ranch still going strong
The Wildcats (4-0) will also look a bit different with their share of college-bound seniors departing last year.
However, coach Jamey Ker may have already found the right players who can power West Ranch to back-to-back Foothill League titles. The Cats have been all business early in the year and already repeated as Lakewood Tournament champs.
Setter Dani Clewis returns for her junior year and will remain a problem for opposing offenses. Clewis’ frame and blocking along with her consistent setting lead many to believe she’s the best setter in the league.
Stepping up on offense is the 6-foot, 2-inch, freshman Devyn Kobe. Ker believes his freshman outside hitter has quickly established herself as a dominant hitter and valuable teammate.
The back row will remain anchored by libero Lexi Seres. As a sophomore, Seres tallied 275 digs and has only gotten better, according to the former UCLA libero Ker.
Junior Grace Kelley returns at middle blocker alongside the lengthy sophomore Valentina Rezzara. Joeleen Reynolds and Kendall Gustin will also be some names to keep an eye on up at West Ranch.
With no seniors in the starting lineup, West Ranch has a lot to look forward to. However, Ker believes with his strong junior returning class and mix of new players, the window remains open for now for a back-to-back league title.
“We have the pieces to be successful,” Ker said. “We’re well-rounded and don’t have a lot of holes. I was worried about our youth with no seniors starting, especially going against Saugus, but after watching us play in our tournament, I liked what I saw.”
The Cats head to Castaic for the Foothill League opener on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Saugus star corps enter senior season
Leila Ballard, Morgan Guardado and Gabriella Cascione have been instrumental to Saugus (12-1) for the past several seasons. Two of the three have started since their freshman years, while all three have turned into college-bound, all-Foothill League players since their sophomore seasons.
Ballard will retake an outside hitter spot, where she has already accumulated over 150 kills. Opposite from her will be junior Taylor Stires, a strong all-around player.
Cascione will anchor the back row from the libero spot while Guardado runs the offense as the setter. Middle blockers Katelyn Nelson and Ayden Jacobsen have shown impressive play while freshman defensive specialist Valerie Mejia has also worked her way into the lineup thanks to some solid serving and passing.
Saugus enters Foothill League play coming off its first loss of the season, a 3-1 road defeat at Village Christian. Nonetheless, the Centurions appear to be one of the more dangerous threats to take the Foothill League crown.
Saugus opens up league play on Thursday at Canyon at 5:30 p.m.
Valencia ready for more
The Vikings (1-2) have typically been playoff regulars for over a decade but haven’t topped the Foothill League standings since 2017.
Valencia is aiming to climb up the standings this season with a solid returning group back and ready to compete.
Senior Makayla Garcia was one of the better middles in league last year and has another year to show off her skills. Setter Cayden Hobrecker returns to run the Valencia offense again after sharing time in the 6-2 system last season. Libero Addison Degard also returns for the Vikings.
Returning, but stepping into a bigger role, is all-around junior Annika Puno. The six-rotation outside hitter has impressed Vikes coach Kristin Dolan to start the season. Puno’s play at the four will be vital to Valencia’s success.
The Vikings open up league play at Hart on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Golden Valley aiming for playoffs
The Grizzlies fell just a coinflip away from the postseason in 2023. Golden Valley is searching for consistency to control its own destiny and punch the program’s first-ever ticket to the playoffs.
So far, so good for the Grizzlies, who currently sit at 5-0.
Twins Sophie and Naomi Smith return for Golden Valley. Sophie is the team’s go-to hitter at outside while Naomi gets the assists in the Smith-to-Smith connections from the setter spot.
Also back for the Grizzlies is sophomore Sophia Petrillo, who stood out last year as a freshman libero. Makenna Jensen will also set in the 6-2 system while bringing a strong serve to the team. According to coach Sean Parchejo, Dhalia Lopez has provided stability, maturity and positivity to the team while sophomore Taijah Ellis is quickly making an impact on the net.
Parchejo may finally have the makings of a playoff team but knows his girls will have to play consistently and at the top of their game to get wins in the Foothill League.
“This team has to play in the higher part of their range, but yes, they can make top four in league if they do that,” Parchejo said. “We’re working on becoming more consistent. We don’t want to be strong, then weak. We want to be good after good after good.”
Golden Valley opens up league play on Tuesday at Castaic at 5:30 p.m.
Canyon loaded with experience and talent
Over in Canyon Country, the Lady Cowboys are off to one of their best starts in recent years at 7-1, heading into league play.
A strong returning class with talent in both the front and back rows may finally be enough to push Canyon back into the playoffs for the first time in three years.
Four-year varsity standout Layla Tejeda returns for her final season in the green and yellow. Tejeda returns to the outside spot with junior Parys Taylor. Tejeda has been Canyon’s steady attack while Taylor has impressed coach Samantha Holcombe with huge improvements to her swing, highlighted by a 25-kill night against Quartz Hill.
Senior Theone Nguyen has been a safety net at libero for the Cowboys but will now transition to setter. Taking over in the reversed jersey will be Mary Audish, who has already looked experienced in her first season, according to Holcombe. Audish is one of eight seniors on Canyon’s most experienced team in years.
“I’m excited for this season with an experienced team, including eight seniors,” Holcombe said in an email. “As always, we are looking forward to battling in our tough league and making the push for playoffs.”
In the middle, promising sophomore Olivia Turner returns and has started clicking well with Nguyen.
The Lady Cowboys may finally have the pieces of a top-four team in the league. Canyon gets its first taste of Foothill League action on Thursday at home against Saugus.
Castaic showing all the signs of progress
The uphill battle has been tough for the Coyotes but the program is closing in on its turning point.
Castaic coach Taylor Schubert has one of her most talented rosters yet as the team looks to win its first Foothill league game and more.
Setter Claudia Martinez returns for the Coyotes (1-0). The setter will have options all over the court, including outside hitter Bella Flores, middle blocker Arielle Greene, Leyla Buela and Jasmine Macnicoll.
Freshmen Brooklyn Ray and Nora Chae have also already worked their way into the lineup. Ray, a libero, will be a strong presence in the back row and from the end line when serving, while Chae brings more steady passing as a defensive specialist.
The team knows a league title may still be a little out of reach but feels ready to start climbing its way out of last place. Just a few wins could be enough to push Castaic into sixth or even fifth place and be more definitive proof of the growth in the program.
The Coyotes head into league play with a home matchup with West Ranch on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
SCCS looking for four-peat
The Santa Clarita Christian School Cardinals (0-2) will showcase quite a different lineup in 2024. SCCS coach Darcy Brown has put together one of her younger varsity squads in hopes of a fourth-straight Heritage League title.
Outside hitter Sophia Glenn and setter-opposite Lila Sperberg will be two leaders for the Cardinals. Sperberg, a freshman, has quickly shown Brown she belongs at the varsity level and will share time at setter while still getting swings on the net. Glenn will be one of the focal points of the offense while senior middle Vivienne Granger will also be an offensive threat.
Brown is counting on libero Camilla Alvarado to steady the defense and keep the offense running efficiently.
SCCS begins league play on Tuesday with a road battle with crosstown rival Trinity at 5 p.m. at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene.
Trinity gearing up for league
The Knights (1-4) are preparing for another rigorous road to the Heritage League championship, a title they’ve just fallen short of over the past few seasons.
Trinity returns seniors outside hitters Emerald Lipis and Bethany Sedy, two players coach Rebecca Peluffo will rely on heavily.
Libero Chloe Horning also returns after a strong sophomore campaign. Trinity will run a 6-2 system with Scarlett Malkasyan and freshman Natalia Godoy.
Trinity is no stranger to beating SCCS during the regular season but has fallen just a game or so short of the title. The Knights will aim to end the rut this season and will host their first league opponent on Friday when the team takes on Desert Christian at 5 p.m.
Legacy embarks on inaugural season
Legacy Lions girls’ volleyball is officially underway. The Lions will play in a freelance season as they begin building the newest program at Legacy.
Coach Heidi Keller’s team rosters 10 players with some volleyball experience but she’s seen nothing but hard work to become a better team and program.
Keller will run a 4-2 with setters Violet Benefield and Margaret Florita leading the way. The two have the most experience and will be instrumental to building up the program as each is set to return in 2025.
Legacy will play about a 10-game schedule with some junior varsity and frosh opponents to give its players the best chance to grow and compete.
The Lions are still some distance from competing for a league or CIF title but Keller believes girls’ volleyball will be a premier program at Legacy a few years down the line.
“It takes years to build a program, so I said, ‘Hey, let’s just jump in and start building now,’” Keller said. “It’s gonna take years but I truly believe that as the school and the program grow, it will be our premier women’s sport at Legacy. It’ll be great.”
